Murcia sexual assault: man arrested for raping young woman he met on Instagram

The suspect was released on bail on Saturday after appearing before the court. The judge has issued a restraining order preventing him from approaching or contacting the victim.

According to the victim's account, she and the defendant arranged to meet following several days of conversations on Instagram. The young woman told the police that the man had picked her up from her home in his car at around 10pm and driven her to a wasteland in Murcia, the exact location of which she was unable to specify.

Once in the car, the girl asked him to give her some water from a bottle, but he refused, so she bent down to take it herself. At that moment, she said in her complaint, he grabbed her by the neck, putting her in a chokehold and leaving her almost unable to breathe. The victim began to cry, but he only mocked her.

According to her account, he then moved to the back of the car, grabbed her by the hair and urged her to come round to the back as well, while telling her: "You're mine." The young woman told the police that she complied out of fear and that he then began to undress and masturbate. In her statement, she says how he then stripped her and assaulted her, despite her repeatedly telling him she wanted him to stop.

The young woman said that she had thought of using her mobile phone to call for help, but the phone was in the front of the car. She also considered running away, but the thought filled her with dread. After he dropped her off at her home, she went to a health centre to be examined and filed a complaint.

The police arrested the suspect in Lorca. In his statement, he says it was she who sent him a friend request on Instagram. The defendant denied that he had put her in a headlock and stated that the sexual relations had been consensual at all times.

Diario Sur contacted his defence lawyer Manuel Martínez Martínez, but he declined to comment.

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